Wrench



July 1, 1941. B. H. PIERCE 2,247,521

WRENCH Filed March 11, 1939 J .Z. 1: Hajj J0 FQQ Patented July 1, 1941 UNITED STATES PTEN ()FFICE WRENCH Bert H. Pierce, Oak Park, Ill.

Application March 11, 1939, Serial No. 261,295

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a wrench and more particularly to a wrench operating on the jar or impact principle.

One feature of this invention is that the wrench is adapted to break loose and remove tightly stuck nuts, bolts, or similar pieces; another feature of this invention is that it is adapted to effect a Very tight drawing up of a nut, stud or like piece; still another feature of this invention is that such a wrench is very sturdy and capable of withstanding long and hard usage; other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following specification and the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a wrench embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same wrench; Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a partially broken away view along the line 44 of Fig. 2.

There are a number of places Where nuts, studs and similar pieces, originally drawn up quite tight and subject to corrosion and the like, must be removed and replaced. For example, the holding nuts for truck wheels, particularly of the dual type, are of such a kind. These nuts must originally be drawn up as tight as possible in order to prevent any play in the wheel; and then weather, road dirt and the like corrode them and fix them in place to such an extent that they are frequently almost impossible to remove.

It has long been known that one way to remove a stuck nut or similar piece is to jar it in some manner, as by a hammer, so that the impacts break it loose and enable it to be removed. It is very diflicult, however, to get the force of the impact operating properly about the axis of rotation of the nut under any conditions, and this is particularly true in connection with nuts or studs on truck or bus wheels, for example.

The present invention comprises a wrench taking advantage of the jar or impact principle, yet so arranged that it may be conveniently used on otherwise inaccessible nuts or similar pieces, and will stand up under very hard usage. In general, my invention comprises a socket wrench portion adapted to engage the nut and including a polygonal bar portion; a yoke member non-rtatably but slideably mounted on the bar portion; and a handle member journalled on the yoke member for rotation through a limited range, a stop portion on the handle member being adapted to abut shoulder portions on the yoke member to transmit the desired impact or jar to the nut.

In the particular embodiment of this invention illustrated herewith a socket portion IU of convention'al type is adapted to slip over and nonrotatably engage a nut, stud, or similar piece, and i removably mounted on the end of a polygonal bar ll. These pieces should, of course, be of a size and material designed to withstand the strains which may be imposed on them. For example, I will describe a wrench designed for removing nuts from the dual wheels of trucks or buses, and in such a wrench the parts II] and H would be of steel and the bar would be about two feet long and an inch in diameter, preferably being hexagonal in shape.

The bar H has slideably but non-rotatably mounted on it a yoke member indicated in general as l2. This yoke member comprises a pair of plate portions or pieces l3 and I4 having substantially annular inward flange portions 15 and i6. These parts provide an external cylindrical bearing surface ll between the two plates, and an internal polygonal opening I8, here being shown as hexagonal and designed to just slip over the hexagonal bar H. At each end of the plate members it and Hi, on a line passing through the axis of the polygonal opening l8, openings are drilled adapted to receive the ends of shoulder members or portions I9 and 20. As may be seen best in Figures 3 and 4, these shoulder members have a square cross section between the plates l3 and hi and substantially conical plates and be Welded therein.

A handle member 2% is journalled on the eye,

lindrical bearing surface H of the yoke member for rotation thereon, at least through a certain limited range. While it is desirable to have the internal cylindrical surface 22 of the handle member journalled on the surface I! a fairly good fit, there should be at least a few thousandths of an inch play. The handle member should be made of some relatively heavy metal, such as cast iron, and should be so constructed that it has a great deal of weight centered at a point considerably removed from the axis of its rotation about the yoke member. This is here achieved by making enlarged end grip portions 23 and 24. It will be noted that both the yoke member and the handle member are constructed throughout in such a manner as to be symmetrically arranged with the axis of the bar I l.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the shoulder members I!) and 20 are so arranged during assembly that two opposed sides or surfaces of each, as 25 and 26 of the member 59 and 21 and 28 of the member 20, provide shoulder surfaces parallel to a plane through the axis of the bar H. The handle member is provided with cooperating stop surfaces as 29, 30, 3|

and 32.

When it is desired to remove a tight nut or like piece, the socket part I would first be slipped thereover, then the yoke and handle parts slid along the bar until they were at some position enabling convenient manipulation of the handle member. The handle member would then be first placed in a position like that shown in Fig. 4. It would then be rotated counterclockwise with as much speed as possible, preferably by the use of two hands. As will be obvious, this rotation can only be through a. limited range and at the end of that range it will be arrested by engagement of the stop surface 3| with the shoulder surface 21 and simultaneous engagement of the stop surface 29 with the shoulder surface 25. The slight play between the bearing surfaces l1 and- 22 not only permits ready rotation of the handle member about the yoke and bar, but also insures both sets of surfaces coming into contact, even though. very slight differences in position thereof occur during manufacturing. The surfaces should, of course, be ground flat; and since they are: all arranged parallel to the axis of the bar, engagement will be made throughout the entire area of both surfaces at once.

Since the handle was being rotated at considerable speed when the surfaces engaged, and since the center of gravity of each part of the handle is located at a considerable distance from the axis of rotation, a strong jar or rotative impact will be transmitted to the yoke and through the bar and socket member to the nut or piece being removed. 'It has been found that this jar is generally suflicient to loosen a nut which may have resisted all efforts with an ordinary type of wrench, even with three or four feet of leverage employed thereon.

In assembling the yoke and handle members the two plates would first be slipped into position on opposite sides of the handle member and the shoulder members 19 and 20 would then be inserted and properly lined up, as by a jig. The openings in the plates could then be filled in by welding to make the plates l3 and I 4 and the shoulder members Ill and 20 form an integral yoke member. In the particular wrench here being described, the handle member would be about two feet in over-all length; and the shoulder members I9 and 20 should be spaced a substantial distance from the axis of the polygonal opening [8 through the yoke member, being here shown as having their centers a little over an inch and a half from such axis.

The provision of a yoke member has several important advantages. For example, it enables the handle to be slid along the bar I lto the best operating position; it provides a good bearing surface onwhich the handle member may be rotatabl y journalled; and it enables placement of the stop members at a point further removed from the axis of rotation than the bearing surface on which the handle member is journall'ed, resulting in a very rugged and long-lived construction.

The. action of the wrench is, of course, reversible. That is, nuts can be readily tightened to the utmost by the same impact principle. When doing this the handle would be first placed in the position such that the surfaces shown in engagement in. Fig. 4 were separated; and it would then; be rotated in a clockwise directionuntil thesurfaces engaged each other as shown, pro-- viding an impact tending to also rotate the nut in a clockwise direction to draw it up tight. Moreover, the wrench can be used in more or less conventional manner to completely remove a nut after it has been jarred loose from its frozen position, by continuously rotating the handle member; or to draw a nut upto almost tight position by continuously rotating the handle member in the other way.

The wrench is also adapted to be provided with removable weights not heretofore described, since it is only in the case of exceptionally stubborn nuts that such weights are necessary.

The handles 23 and 24 have openings bored therethrough near the ends thereof, as the opening 41 in the handle 24. A pair of substantially cylindrical weights 40 and 4| are also provided with openings therthrough and are adapted to be held in place on the handle, when needed, by a boltor stud. Similarly, the weights 42 and 43 are symmetrically arranged at the other end of the wrench handle, being held in place by the. bolt 44 and nut 45. These weights, when attached to the wrench handle as shown, serve not only to add additional weight to the handle, but to add it at the furthest possible point from the center of rotation, where it is most effective.

The weights are preferably cast or otherwise formed so as to have the surface adapted to lie adjacent the handle conforming to the surface shape of the handle. That is, as may be best seen in the lower end of Figure 2, the Weights have portions which partially surround a portion of the ends of the handles, conforming to the surface shape thereof.- This prevents the weights from rattling, moving about, and throwing undue strain on the bolts during the use of the Wrench as an impact tool. The Weights may, of course, be provided in different sizes.

While I have described and claimed certain embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the character described for rotating a nut or similar piece, including: a

wrench member adapted to non-rotatably engage the piece, the wrench member includinga polygonal bar portion; a yoke member'having a polygonal opening therein adapted to receive the bar portion, whereby the last mentioned member is slidably but non-rotatably mounted on the bar portion, said member having a continuous external round bearing surface, concentric with said polygonal opening, and a pair of shoulder portions spaced from said bearing surface each shoulder portion having two shoulder surfaces on opposite sides thereof; and a handle member having a-continuous bearing portion journalled on said bearing surface for rotation about the yoke -member through a given range only and having four stop surfaces, two of said stop surfaces being adapted to contact two cooperating shoulder surfaces at one end of said range" and the other twov stop surfaces being adapted to contact the other two shoulder surfaces at the other end of said range.

2. Apparatus of the character described for rotating a nut or similar piece, including: a,

wrench member adapted to non-rotatably engage the piece, the wrench member including a polygonal bar portion: ayoke member havinga polygonal opening therein adapted to receive the bar portion, whereby the last mentioned member is slidably but non-rotatably mounted on the bar portion, said member including a pair of plate portions with a central bearing portion having an external continuous cylindrical bearing surface, and a pair of shoulder portions spaced from said surface extending therebetween; and a handie member having a continuous bearing portion journalled on said bearing surface for rotation about the yoke member through a given range only and having a pair of stop portions adapted to abut surfaces on said shoulder members at one end of said range.

BERT H. PIERCE.- 

